1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for producing pillow-shaped hollow bodies which are delimited at opposite ends by crimped edges.
2. Description of the Related Art
The production of edible pillow-shaped hollow bodies is known from European Patent EP 774 209 B1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,710 and from International Patent Application No. WO 02/071848 A1, corresponding to Published European Patent Application EP 1 361 795.
European Patent EP 774 209 B1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,710, discloses the production of the edible hollow bodies from an extruded, plastically deformable chocolate tube. After the extruder, the tube passes two stationary crimping tools, which are alternately actuated and respectively cut off a portion of the tube, protruding from the extruder, and create a horizontal or vertical crimped edge.
International Patent Application No. WO 02/071848 A1, corresponding to Published European Patent Application EP 1 361 795, discloses the production of edible hollow bodies from a baked, plastically deformable wafer tube. The latter is transported in the longitudinal direction over a horizontal transport path, along which two elongate, mutually overlapping crimping devices are disposed. They have crimping tools, which move in the longitudinal direction of the transport path, alternately come into action at the beginning of the path and cut up the wafer tube pushed into the transport path, thereby creating a horizontal or vertical crimped edge.
In both cases, the efficiency is not very high. In order to achieve a durable closure of the ends of the hollow bodies that are created by crimped edges, with all of the crimping tools it is necessary for there to be a distinct delay of the crimping operation creating the crimped edges immediately before the final severing of the respective, already laid-flat region of the tube. A precondition therefor is a slow relative movement, or a relative movement delayed by a holding time, of the two crimping jaws performing the crimping operation. As a result, however, the quantity of pillow-shaped hollow bodies that can be produced per unit of time is very greatly restricted.